By Linda A Smith Samantha Healy Vardaman Melissa A Snow

66Shared Hope InternationalCreating Accountability through Procedures and ProtocolsA common theme in all ten assessments was a lack of understanding throughout all professional groupsof who had responsibility for domestically trafficked minors. Law enforcement participants statedthat protection of victims is the job of child protective services as familial neglect is usually involved;however, child protection workers unequivocally state that victim protection is the responsibility of lawenforcement. The result in far too many cases is an abdication of responsibility for the protection ofdomestically trafficked minors.The same issue arises when either shelter or services for domestically trafficked minors is addressed.Similarly, social service providers and non-governmental organizations stated that they do not have thelegal ability to provide long-term care for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, as they cannot acquirecustody of the child. Therefore, many social service agencies pointed to the fact that long-term care is theresponsibility of child protective services. Unfortunately, child protective service agencies stated that theirmandate does not extend to the majority of these children and a lack of resources hinder their ability toaddress those that do. Once again, this results in no clear responsible agency providing long-term care tosexually trafficked youth.The Dallas Police Department’s Child Exploitation/High Risk Victims/Human Trafficking Unit hasa promising practice working to address this lack of accountability and responsibility. The CE/HRV/HT Unit assigns a highly trained detective to a potential case of domestic minor sex trafficking. Thatdetective is then assigned to that child every time the child comes into contact with the Dallas PoliceDepartment. This protocol works to create a bond between the victim and detective and facilitatesdisclosures. Furthermore, the assigned detective is responsible for contacting child protective services andother needed entities — thus, creating a “paper trail” that can be used to hold groups accountable. Theseprocedures and protocols have had profound success in Dallas, but require significant investment by boththe detectives and upper-level management.A similar protocol has worked in Boston as well, where a specific caseworker has been assigned towork with all domestically trafficked minors. The purpose of the caseworker is to facilitate the minor’sinteractions with various agencies, such as the police department, child protective services, and juvenilejustice. This point person helps the minor negotiate these complex systems engendering trust betweenthe minor and the caseworker. This arrangement also brings accountability for the minor’s rescue andrestoration.